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Macron says Ukraine is an 'existential' fight for Europe as he makes two-day state visit to Portugal

French President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day state visit to Portugal to strengthen bilateral ties and encourage European unity as the fate of Ukraine remains uncertain under an increasingly critical Trump administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day state visit to Portugal on Thursday where he was greeted by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.

Macron and his wife Brigitte received a welcoming ceremony outside the Jeronimos Monastery in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Macron was later welcomed by his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa after the ceremony.

The French president’s trip to Portugal looks to boost bilateral ties between Paris and Lisbon and deepen European unity in a period of uncertainty.

European leaders have been urging for increased unity and cooperation after a dramatic shift in Washington’s foreign policy following the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

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@TitusHale1996

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I heard the new Beetlejuice movie is out today …

it looks like a must watch. Although I’m not going to lie, I’m a little miffed they didn’t ask Morty to make a cameo 🤣❤️🐶
#mortythemisfit #hecouldhavedoneadramaticscene

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@JamesScott

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In the year 1971, Soviet engineers set fire to a gas-filled hole in the Turkmenistan desert, thinking it would burn out in a few days.

However, to their astonishment, the flames have persisted, and the site, known as "The Door to Hell," has been burning continuously for over 52 years

Hundreds of natural gas fires illuminate the floor and rim of the crater. The crater has been burning since the 1980s. How the crater formed is unknown, but engineers ignited the crater to prevent poisonous gases from spreading.

#World #Curiosities Read More...

@DanEllis

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Katherine Johnson was the mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA

Born #Today in 1918, Katherine Johnson was the mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights

[✏️ Steve Breen, San Diego Union Tribune] Read More...

@BradCooper

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Dow tumbles 800 points as Trump confirms tariffs on Mexico and Canada will start Tuesday

US stocks slid Monday as investors braced for President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico to go into effect by the midnight deadline.

The Dow tumbled 650 points, or 1.48%, to close at 43,191. The Dow fell almost 900 points in afternoon trading before pulling back slightly. The broader S&P 500 fell 1.76% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.64%.

The S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day decline of the year. The Nasdaq is down about 6.5% since since Trump took office on January 20.

“Tomorrow, tariffs — 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House. “And that’ll start. … What they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”

Trump said the two trading partners had “no room” left to negotiate to avoid the levies and that he was using tariffs to “punish” countries that, as he put it, were taking from the US economy without giving enough in return.

“They’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow,” he said.

Trump also signed an executive order on Monday raising tariffs on imports from China to 20%, up from 10%. Trump said the tariffs, aimed at bringing China to the table on curtailing fentanyl entering the United States, will be raised because the communist country has not done enough to stem the flow of illegal drugs.

The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, surged to its highest point this year after Trump’s comments.

“Due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, the stock market has erased the gains from the ‘Trump bump’ following the presidential election and the expected upward pressure on prices is giving investors pause,” said Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government and public policy at Cornell University.

“For investors, 2025 can still be a positive year for stocks, but it may take all year to realize gains. And they may be modest,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group.

“I’m still a bull,” Bolvin said.

The import taxes Trump imposed are significant — the largest in US-China history. The initial tariffs, which went into effect February 4, set in motion tariffs on $1.4 trillion of imported goods. That’s more than triple the $380 billion worth of foreign goods that were hit with tariffs during Trump’s first term, according to estimates from the Tax Foundation.

Before he became president, Trump pledged a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods, so the tariff level could rise still.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the press conference about tariffs on Canada and Mexico that global companies can avoid tariffs if they invest into production in the United States, like TSMC, the Taiwanese chipmaker at the White House on Monday to announce a $100 billion US investment.

Trump’s tariffs will raise prices of imported goods, which could boost demand for goods produced in the US, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. But they also noted that tariffs will have negative effects on some American businesses.

“Tariff increases will also raise production costs for some domestic producers and will likely prompt foreign retaliation against some US exports, both of which could hurt domestic production,” they wrote in a note.
#CNN
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@Levi_Ross